HIAWASSEE, Ga. – Towns County Schools is planning a community open house Wednesday, August 7, from 5 to 7 pm, for anyone who would like to tour the upgraded campus. The Towns County Board of Education applied for a $3.3 million modernization grant in 2017, based on an estimate from Robertson Loia Roof, an architectural firm located in Alpharetta, Georgia. Due to the true cost of the renovation amounting to $4.3 million, the school board opted to delay the wiring process, which included LED lighting, until this year when additional Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds became available.

“Our summer projects have gone smoother and faster than expected,” Towns County Schools Superintendent Dr. Darren Berrong told FetchYourNews. “We successfully renovated all our classrooms with new LVT flooring and new paint. All our restrooms were upgraded to be ADA compliant in both the school building and high school gym. We installed a new fire alarm system and have completely replaced all the 40 year old wiring in the building. The high school-middle school library received a complete renovation with a new modern look and coffee shop feel. We replaced all the lighting in the school with LED lights with motion sensors to turn off when there is no movement in the building for energy management. The high school gym received all new paint as well as well as new gym seats. All exterior doors were replaced for security purposes to make it more difficult to enter our buildings. The newly installed turf on the soccer/football field is simply beautiful.  We also renovated the softball field with a new backstop, new windscreen, a new batting cage, and locker room. With the completion of all the projects from this summer and last summer, our school building and sports facilities rival any schools systems in the state of Georgia. I couldn’t be happier with the results or more proud that we are able to provide the students of Towns County and our community with state of the art facilities that they can use and be proud of many years to come.”

Dr. Berrong plans to provide a personal tour of the renovated campus to Towns County Commissioner Cliff Bradshaw, Hiawassee Mayor Liz Ordiales, and Young Harris Mayor Andrea Gibby on the mornng of Aug. 1.